Valencia's proud unbeaten home record in the European Cup never came under threat on Tuesday night as lacklustre Liverpool were handed a tough lesson by the devastating Spanish champions.

Pablo Aimar and Ruben Baraja gave the Spaniards a convincing first-half lead which, but for the commanding performance of Reds keeper Jerzy Dudek, would have increased as the visitors endured a torrid start to their Champions League campaign.

Yet despite the humbling manner of the defeat Murphy shares manager Gerard Houllier's view that it was "a bad day at the office" for Liverpool, rather than a game that puts their Champions League ambitions on hold.

The Reds midfielder conceded Valencia confirmed their billing as Group B favourites, but is adamant the gulf between the teams was only as a result of Liverpool's own failings on the night.

"There was not a gulf in class," declared Murphy. "We had a bad day.

"It was not a case of us not being able to match them as we know that on our day we are a match for anyone in Europe.

"The fact is we weren't good enough on the night and we've got to make amends. Our pride is hurt, we let the fans down, we let ourselves down and it is a sign of how far we've come that we can come to a place like Valencia and be disappointed at not performing much better.

"We have to be positive and hopefully if we come across these so-called better teams later on in the tournament we will acquit ourselves much better.

"We had enough quality out there to play well and we didn't. Simple as that. They played better on the night and showed the class we didn't show, but we know we've got that as well."

Despite missing out on Champions League football last season Valencia needed no time to recreate the European form that booked them successive final appearances in 2000 and 2001.

But Murphy said: "They are a good team with a lot of quality but while they played well we were simply below par.

"At Anfield it should be a different game. It is always difficult to judge a team after one performance and while their record at home is very impressive we now just have to concentrate on our own game and getting things right.

"We are good players ourselves and we have to do a lot better.

"We've got confidence in our own ability, we know we can match anyone on our day but this was very disappointing because this season we have shown a more positive side to our game and we didn't in Valencia.

"The important thing in all this is how we react. We've got to bounce back and the Champions League format means we've got five games to make amends so all is not lost.

"We know from experience you have to be at your best in Europe, you cannot get away with some of the mistakes you make in the Premiership."

The onus will be on Liverpool to take maximum points against FC Basel at Anfield next week, and also on the Reds midfield in the absence of the suspended Dietmar Hamann.

"I feel sorry for Didi because there was nothing malicious in it," said Murphy, referring to the German's second booking after tangling with Spanish sub Mista.

"He's an important player and we'll miss him but we can't blame the referee for what happened, we know what it's like in Europe."

And as he looks forward to the visit of the Swiss double winners Murphy is adamant this week's lesson has damaged only pride at Anfield, not the belief that Liverpool will again have a major say in this season's Champions League.

He added: "We've held our own against the best teams in Europe before, and our away record in Europe speaks for itself, but we were second best.

"We didn't compete in the first half and when you don't start well in a place like Valencia you are going to be in trouble.

"To be fair in the second half we were a little bit better, we got the ball down and created a few chances, but we never got the goal we needed.

"Looking back on it though you've got to say we were second best but in this competition you've got a chance to make amends and next week we will be looking to put our first three points on the board at home to Basel."

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